
Tamar Many, Head of International Studies and Relations,
Shenkar College of Design

Improving the world
Design structures thinking about product creation. By identifying the core values of a potential product and translating those values into shape, form, and material, design helps define questions about the product's uses and provides answers.
In an era of increasing globalization, technology needs design more than ever before. We are witnessing the coming together of disparite physical and digital worlds, leading to unusual challenges. Teams can meet these challenges by implementing design in the preliminary stages of a project and by nourishing design, creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking through multidisciplinary think tanks. Such teams can include designers, engineers, and medical practitioners from the academic as well as the business fields. Conceptual understanding of design serves as a catalyst for stimulating ideas, a catalyst that works in every direction. The possibilities are endless.
At Shenkar College of Design, we urge our students to cross boundaries in their thingking. They study nature to enhance their design perspectives. They expand the possibilities of collaboration by engaging in interdisciplinary projects where each sub-speciality informs the result. They create novel projects by transforming ideas from the past.
When we imagine a design, we pair thought with space. This pairing allows us to devise future possibilities and to create significant change. When design aesthetics meet brand values the resulting products are better because the designs reflect the products' inherent identities. The benefits improve the whole world.
Home
Having grown up in America and having been an exchange student studying design, I understand the benefits of academic internationalization. I am currently living and working in Tel Aviv, Israel -- a city which is a hub of art, design, and creativity and which is home to the largest number of Bauhaus buildings in the world (known as the White City).
Home, however, is not just a physical space. Design and work allow me to reach places which are both near and far. Locality is important, but diversity and interaction are the core of the creative process.
Shenkar and More
In August 2014 I became head of international studies and relations at Shenkar College of Design in Tel Aviv. I build cross-disciplinary projects and curricula, and I am also a senior lecturer in the visual communications department. Shenkar's focus is on research, innovation, and originality. The college is a creative workshop for cutting edge design and is on the forefront of developing students who have unique personal voices. My design work combines conceptual and technical skills and interdisciplinary approaches to engineering, textile printing, knitting, and research, using techniques both from artisan craftsmanship and high-end technologies.
I am also the cofounder of a luxury stationery brand called Textured Paper. Sample products may be purchased through The Jewish Museum and The Museum of Modern Art.
Israel Favorites
Breakfast at The Norman Tel-Aviv boutique hotel.
White City Hotel, located in the historic Albert Square.
Business meetings at The Urban Bakery, Noga District, Jaffa
Art scouting at the CCA, Dvir Gallery, and Braverman Art Gallery, Tel Aviv
Friday walk through Machane Yehuda Market Jerusalem & eating lunch at "Machane Yehuda" Restaurant
A weekend up north at the award wining Elma Hotel – luxury hotel in Zichron Ya'acov
Checking out upcoming Israeli designers like Eliran Nargassi, Muslin Brothers, Lee Coren
Cultural escape with Batsheva Dance Company